Three of Three: Laundry Room

Some project have this tendency to end up at the bottom of the priority list, not because they are small and inexpensive quick fixes but because they are off the beaten path and don't really have much of an impact on your daily life.
In January I talked about "The List" and how I'd been trying to nail the list for each room down to three main projects in order to "git'er done" (refresh your memory here). Here are my "Three of Three" for the Laundry Room

  [My little laundry nook in the mudroon]

Laundry Room
1. paint (cabinets, tabletop and part wall)
2. install door knobs
3. create a 'backsplash' (backing, curtain, something) to hide the utilities

Starting with project #1 - paint, I decides to add our dryer to the list of items to paint. You see we have had this Kenmore dryer for almost 10 years now (no kidding!) and except for having to replace a broken belt once, this one is still going strong. We got it when Little Man was a baby, and I pretty much run it every other day, sometimes twice a day, or if I have procrastinated on laundry long enough, do a marathon with 4-5 loads until bedtime rolls around. So ...still no need to replace the washer or the dryer, but because they'd been sitting on a half-enclosed backporch while we were still renting, the elements had gotten to them and done a number on our dryer. It had rusty spots on the top, along the edges and around the handle, and it wasn't pretty.

I used "The must for rust" rust remover from Krud Kutter to combat the rust. I must admit this stuff gets me all giddy. You can literally "watch" the rust vanishing. It's pretty neat! I applied it as per instructions, dancing on the spot until all rust was gone.
No need to fear for your hands either - no breaking out in angry rashes, hives or chemical burns when touching the solution. Like I said, very neat stuff.

 

Once the rust remover had done its magic, I grabbed the sander and sanded off any flaky paint and gave the dryer a good cleaning to boot.

Then it was time for Rustoleum's Appliance Epoxy. I made sure to apply the spray paint in nice even, thin layers and kept the door to the backyard wide open, despite the freezing weather outside ...brrrr! but nothing beats proper ventilation. I also used my handy-dandy face mask because nothing is as weird as sticky nostrils because you have been inhaling spray paint. Not like I would know about that ....ahem.

Tada! Looking good, dryer baby! The paint goes on like a spray paint but it seems to be thicker, and takes longer to dry (it stayed tacky for quite a while). I made sure I finished all laundry for the next 4-5 days before tackling this project so the new coat of paint has a chance to dry and cure undisturbed (and nobody has to go naked at the Little Old House because the laundry didn't get done. It's too cold for shenanigans like that!).

Looking brand-new - not fancy, but brand-new! The cabinets will be next so stay tuned for more Laundry room goodness!